Professor Ransford Gyampo, a Political Scientist, has stated that Ghana’s legislative arm of government is manipulated by bodies outside of the government. He argued that there is no proper form of separation of powers and checks and balances in Ghana’s parliament.
He argued that the Executive arm of the government has an amount of control over parliament in a manner that defeats the balance of power between the executive and the legislature. He specified that the 1992 Constitution of Ghana confers on the President so much power than the President should ideally have.
Prof. Gyampo also reasoned that the 1992 Constitution was not prepared for the present-day political leaders of Ghana. He emphasized that the constitution was prepared to tailor to the needs of former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings who was a military ruler.
“It got to a certain point in time in the epoch of our political history; the application of political conditionality became a condition for which international aid could be given, i.e., if you don’t democratize, no aid will be given. J.J Rawlings who was a soldier was forced to resign from the military and conduct an election in which he was the footballer and the referee and won hands-down”.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo
The Political Scientist further argued that leaders of government are reluctant conduct constitutional review to address the power granted to the President because it is beneficial to them. He indicated that the powers conferred on the President by the Constitution make the President a ‘Political King-Kong’ that acts according to his will.
He emphasized that the parliament is the sole arm of government that is tasked with the responsibility of putting the Executive on its toes. “But in tandem with the practice of political king-kongism, the President has gone out of his way to also take over the powers of the legislative arm of government” he stated.
Accordingly, Prof Gyampo detailed that once the President appoints a cabinet from parliament, it becomes difficult for that Member of Parliament to oppose the President in parliament. He emphasized that other Members of Parliament who are ambitious to become ministers cannot criticize or oppose the President either.
Independence Of Ghana’s Legislature
He indicated that the power of the executive to influence the leadership of parliament led to the supposed voluntary resignation of the former Majority Leader of Parliament, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu. He stressed that the necessary actions must be taken to ensure that parliament asserts its independence from the control of the executive to bring into existence a credible parliament that promotes constitutionalism.
“That is why the constitutional review process shouldn’t have been aborted. Thankfully I heard the NDC have read their manifesto saying that they will reintroduce that process to ensure that the process is carried to its logical conclusion. Our constitution is the law of the land that regulates everything…and so if it is faulty our development will be faulty”.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo
Moreover, Prof. Gyampo argued that the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs which was instituted by the former President, H.E John A. Kuffour, should not have been created. He emphasized that instituting the ministry was an attempt to make the parliament subservient to Executive control and more proof of the influence the Executive has over the legislative arm of government.
Prof. Gyampo subsequently revealed that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) sponsored Africa Peer Review program in 2005 indicated that the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs was flawed and should be abolished.
He stressed that the NPP government then failed to scrap the ministry. The ministry, he noted, was scraped by the NDC government in 2009 and reintroduced by the incumbent NPP government in 2017.
Prof. Gyampo’s remarks followed the resignation of the former Majority Leader in parliament, Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu. The Member of Parliament recently revealed that his resignation was requested by the President, H.E Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo. His revelation has brought into focus the influence the President has on Parliament and resurrected the conversation of a review of Ghana’s constitution.
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